Dear Dubravka,

What a trip! I wish I had something to complain about, but I don’t! You and your team turned me into a celebrity with my family – they couldn’t stop thanking me for putting together such an amazing vacation!

Thank you so much for steering your team and taking great care of us. Your planning was spot on; the hotels, the boat, the tours – everything was more perfect than I could imagine.

The three standouts of the trip were the villa at Masalina, the dinner at Pelegrini, and the hike with Tee in Hvar. Masalina is an amazing place. The team who took care of us made everything so special. We had breakfast in the villa each morning. I’ll send you a photo of what they did for us – even my sleepyhead kids got up early to enjoy!

We were ready to be pampered by the time we arrived, showered and dressed from our hike, at Pelegini, and the service team there did not let us down. The food and wine were delicious, and the presentation of every plate was so fun and wonderful. We did get a little loud, but were assured that they found us as entertaining as we found ourselves!

The hikes were fantastic. I did wish I had my hiking boots for that first hike because of all the rain, and I was sorry that the BIG waterfall was closed but we found Krka National Park extraordinarily beautiful. It was the hike with Tee in Hvar, however, that was a special standout. Tee took us on a quick walk through Hvar to get out of the heat, then we hiked up on a path skirting the water until we headed inland to the abandoned city for dinner. Tee made the day truly special. What a nice guy! We so enjoyed sharing dinner with him and getting to know him a little. I also loved being in the abandoned city among the ruins. I did have a moment where the group got ahead of me getting back to the car, and I found myself alone and a little turned around among the empty stone houses – I won’t say I was scared, but let’s say I didn’t feel totally alone either!

Also, our first guide, Natasha, was wonderful. She got lucky on timing with a wine and cheese festival at the Palace. It made for a celebratory first day of our trip as we wandered the palace to some great jazz with wine glasses in hand and her knowledge of the palace rooms.

A shout-out to our boat crew as well. We adored Carlo. We kept him busy making lemon water for us in between pouring drinks. He very articulate and knowledgeable, he took us to see some sights that you could only enjoy from the water. The boat was beautiful, and even the sailors in our were happy to relax on a motor boat and enjoy the Adriatic. 😂

Finally, the One and Only is a beautiful resort. Steve and I took advantage of the beach, the pool, the gym, the spa! It’s a little more of a resort than we prefer. I am sorry that the Aman was closed during our trip – I wonder if that might have left us with a better sense of Montenegro. We did go into Hercog Novi to eat locally, so we were able to get a better appreciation of the area. We also hired a boat for a few hours to tour us through the bay on our way to Kotor. In hindsight, I might have preferred a few extra days in Dubrovnik or moving to the seaside village of Cavtat, which we passed in our travels and looked lovely.

The best part of the trip, besides having my entire family all together, was getting to know Croatia and the people there. Our time cooking with Yolanda and our lunch at Katja’s house was so special and gave us a feel for the people of Croatia. We felt so welcomed and will always remember those experiences.

This became such a long email – so sorry! Let me end with this: if your job was to make us fall in love with Croatia and return – you succeeded! We are already making plans for Nathan’s 30th next summer!

Best to you – be in good health! Also, please confirm your mailing address: Držićeva 15, 21000, Split, Croatia.

Best-
Erica